Return of Black Lotus system:Taming Cheating Male Leads

Chapter 167: Chapter-167

Now, Heena was not a simple cold-blooded person. Of course not. She had a heart. She had compassion. She understood that Seraphina was pregnant and needed proper care.

So naturally, she provided Seraphina with a room to live in at the palace, a bed, three meals a day, and everything a pregnant woman could need.

The only thing was... the room was located directly beside the horse stables.

Not ’near’ the stables. Not in a charming cottage with a ’view’ of the stables.

Literally a hut stuck to the side of the stable like an architectural afterthought, so close that you could hear every horse fart through the walls.

And yes, there was a bed. A lovely soft bed, even. But then Heena had consulted with the imperial physicians, who’d casually mentioned that pregnant women sometimes experienced back pain from overly soft mattresses.

So, being the ’thoughtful’ Empress she was, Heena had the mattress removed entirely.

You know, for Seraphina’s health.

The iron bed frame remained, of course. Perfectly adequate. Very supportive. Absolutely not at all like sleeping on a medieval torture device.

And yes, Seraphina would receive food. Three meals a day, as promised. But what ’kind’ of food? Well, that was decided by the servants assigned to care for her.

And these servants were Heena’s most trusted staff members. Absolutely loyal. Following orders to the ’exact letter’.

Heena had given them very clear instructions: ”Take care of our guest and give her the same food you give everyone who lives there.”

The servants had nodded solemnly and followed orders perfectly.

The problem was that ”everyone who lives there” included approximately fifteen horses, three guard dogs, two palace cats, and a decorative peacock that had wandered over from the gardens and refused to leave.

So Seraphina’s daily menu consisted of:

’’Breakfast:’’ Fresh green beans (the crunchy kind horses loved), sprouts (excellent for digestion, apparently), and a large glass of mare’s milk (locally sourced, very fresh, absolutely ’not’ what humans typically drank).

’’Lunch:’’ More sprouts, some bananas (slightly brown, because the horses preferred them that way), a handful of walnuts, and dried fruit that looked suspiciously like the treats given to the guard dogs.

’’Dinner:’’ A gourmet selection of oats, more green beans, maybe an apple if she was lucky, and another glass of that fantastic mare’s milk.

Objectively speaking, it was healthy. Nutritious. Organic. The kind of diet that health-conscious people from Heena’s original world would pay premium prices for at trendy cafes.

But for Seraphina, who’d been raised on delicate pastries, honey-glazed meats, fine wines, and elaborate desserts that looked like edible art?

This was psychological warfare disguised as meal planning.

And the situation got even better when Heena consulted with the doctors ’again’ and learned that pregnant women should engage in light exercise and labor to ensure an easier delivery.

Being the generous, caring Empress that she was, Heena immediately assigned Seraphina appropriate tasks:

- Cleaning the stables (builds upper body strength!)

- Mucking out horse stalls (excellent cardio!)

- Picking up horse manure (teaches humility!)

- Brushing down the horses (therapeutic bonding with animals!)

- Organizing hay bales (core workout!)

Very light labor. Very healthy exercise. Absolutely not at all like being sentenced to hard labor while pregnant.

And to make absolutely certain that everything was done properly and safely, Heena assigned supervision to ’’Martha’’.

Now, Martha was a ’legend’ at the palace.

She was 67 years old, built like a brick wall, and had the personality of a honey badger that had been denied coffee. She’d been working at the palace for 45 years, and in that time, she had made ’literally hundreds’ of servants cry.

New maids lasted approximately 3.5 hours under her supervision before having complete emotional breakdowns.

Experienced staff members would rather scrub chamber pots than work a shift under Martha’s watchful eye.

One particularly traumatized footman had once described her as ”what would happen if a military drill sergeant and a disappointed grandmother had a baby, and that baby was raised by wolves.”

After receiving over ’three thousand documented complaints’, Martha had been removed from supervising the household staff and put into semi-retirement managing inventory for the storage rooms where she couldn’t traumatize anyone.

But Heena—kind, generous, thoughtful Heena—had found Martha’s true calling:

Supervising Lady Seraphina’s health and work schedule.

It was perfect, really. Martha needed purpose. Seraphina needed supervision. And Heena needed entertainment.

Everyone won! (Except Seraphina.)

And because Heena was ’so concerned’ about Seraphina’s wellbeing, she’d made several other thoughtful adjustments:

’’The Clothing Situation:’’

Heena noticed that Seraphina had been wearing fancy noble dresses—tight corsets, heavy brocade, restrictive designs. Terrible for a pregnant woman! So Heena had all of Seraphina’s beautiful gowns confiscated and replaced them with rough peasant smocks.

The kind that stable hands wore.

Made of burlap.

Very breathable. Very practical. Absolutely not at all humiliating for a noblewoman who’d spent her entire life in silk and velvet.

’’The Jewelry Issue:’’

Seraphina had been wearing jewelry—necklaces, bracelets, rings. Very dangerous! What if her fingers swelled during pregnancy and the rings cut off circulation? What if a horse got spooked by shiny objects?

So all jewelry was removed. For safety. For health. Definitely not because seeing Seraphina stripped of all status symbols brought Heena immense satisfaction.

’’The Roofing Improvement:’’

The original hut had a solid wooden roof that blocked out sunlight. And ’everyone’ knew that pregnant women needed vitamin D! So Heena—gritting her teeth at the expense, making such a painful financial sacrifice—had the wooden roof removed and replaced with a lovely thatched roof made of dry grass.

Much better for letting in natural light!

Also excellent for letting in rain, cold wind, bird droppings, and the occasional confused squirrel, but those were just minor details.

’’The Health Products Removal:’’

Heena was ’deeply concerned’ about potential allergies or health issues for the unborn child. Herbal medicines, cosmetics, perfumes, scented oils—any of these could potentially cause problems!

So naturally, everything was confiscated. Every bottle, every jar, every tiny container of face cream or hair oil.

Seraphina could wash with plain water and be grateful for it.

For the baby’s safety, of course.

---

Now, sitting in her office and reviewing Martha’s daily report about Seraphina’s ”care,” Heena dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

”I am such a generous person,” she murmured, her voice thick with fake emotion. ”So selfless. So caring. Truly, I am a saint.”

Her secretary stood beside her desk, looking like death warmed over with his perpetual dark circles and exhausted expression. He glanced at the report, then at Heena, then at the ceiling as if praying for divine intervention.

”Your Majesty,” he said in the flattest, most emotionless voice possible, ”may God have mercy on your soul, because I guarantee that future historians will describe you as a supervillain. If ’this’ is called generosity, then I would rather be executed than witness what you consider actual cruelty.”

Heena looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

”Secretary Chen, are you saying you want to be executed? Because I can arrange that. Just finish reviewing these 47 documents about the upcoming court session, and I’ll happily grant your wish.”

The secretary’s expression didn’t change, but he picked up the stack of papers immediately.

”I live to serve, Your Majesty,” he said in that same dead tone. ”Death by paperwork is apparently my destiny. I’ve accepted it.”

”That’s the spirit!” Heena said cheerfully, turning back to Martha’s report.

The System materialized beside her, reading over her shoulder, and his little paw came up to cover his mouth in shock.

”Host... this is... this is ’evil’.”